Edgar Ramirez romanced Jennifer Lawrence in Joy and spooked Emily Blunt in The Girl on the Train, but the 40-year-old’s best stories are his own. He grew up all over Venezuela, where his father worked as a military attaché. Ramirez speaks five languages, curses in German, and studied to be a journalist before taking a sharp turn toward acting at 25. He stormed Cannes in 2010 with Carlos, a career-defining, six-hour miniseries in which Ramirez played Venezuelan terrorist Carlos the Jackal, from his days as a young playboy admiring his own junk in a hotel-room mirror to his eventual capture some 20 years later. This month, in the second season of FX’s American Crime Story, Ramirez becomes another iconic rebel, the titular legendary fashion designer in The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which opens with Versace’s murder on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion. (Penélope Cruz stars as Donatella Versace; Ricky Martin appears as the designer’s longtime partner, Antonio D’Amico.) While Versace famously lived his life openly, Ramirez, who has been linked to former costars Jessica Chastain and Ana de Armas, prefers an existence laid less bare. Here, the international man of mystery—he splits his time between New York, L.A., and Caracas—explains why.

Tell me about a time that being handsome got you out of trouble.

Edgar Ramirez: Honestly, I try not to rely too much on that. It’s too relative and it’s too fragile. But maybe last night: I was trying to expand the number of seats of a dinner table and the restaurant was full. Maybe it was my accent that got me more seats.

What surprised you about Versace?

He was a family man. He would wake up very early and go to bed rather late. People fantasize about his life because of the lushness of his clothes and the atmosphere and the mystique around his brand. His parties were legendary. It was necessary for him to be surrounded by that diversity of people—rich people, affluent people, people from the street.… He would get his inspiration from that. And everyone went crazy for the mix.

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Ramirez as Versace.

Jeff Daly/FX; John Russo

Versace famously married sex and couture in his work. Tell me about the time in your life you felt the sexiest.

The sexiest? Wow. Let me think.

Maybe it was when Carlos screened at Cannes. What is it like to be naked in front of so many people?

That was actually embarrassing. I didn’t see the entire cut of the movie before Cannes. Olivier [Assayas, the director] used a very, very close full-frontal shot of myself. There was a subtle gasp in the theater. When we shot that scene, the script suggested that Carlos was drunk in his hotel suite wearing a towel. That doesn’t make sense. If you’re by yourself, drinking from the minibar, you’re not wearing a towel.

The nude scene was your idea?

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Yeah. But I didn’t know it was going to be a full frontal. I didn’t know the camera was going to go there.

Very little is known about your private life. Is that by design?

It’s not necessarily about protecting my life. I have put the focus in my work and what I do as an actor. It’s important to make people believe that they’re on a journey with you.

Okay. What’s the most outlandish thing you’ve done for love?

Crossing an ocean for one night.

Was it worth it?

Of course. It always is.

You filmed in the house where Versace was assassinated. Could you feel his presence?

I come from Latin America. I’m a magical realist. We feel very comfortable with the unknown. I would say there was a very strong energy. Ricky, Ryan [Murphy], Penélope, and I—we discussed that maybe we never really go completely away. That house was built for creativity. We turned it into a mini studio. Gianni might have felt very happy that the house became again what it was always meant to be: a beacon of creativity.

Are you saying you believe in ghosts?

There was a moment when my grandmother died. She was a tailor. My appreciation for design and clean-cut suits comes from her. We were very close. I was the first to find her, and I wouldn’t say that she talked to me. It was more like a certainty. I put my forehead on her forehead, I smelled her.… I was crying intensely. Then I felt everything was going to be all right. She may be listening to this conversation next to me. That’s what eternal life is about. People live on in the memory of the ones who stay here.

What can Americans learn from Venezuela’s turbulent political history?

Never underestimate a populist. We have come to a moment where language is very important. Saying the media is the number one enemy of society is a way to create confusion and set people against each other. It’s like a virus. Democracy dies and is born every day. If you don’t take an active role in what is going on, somebody can easily steal it from you.

In Bright [out now on Netflix], you play an FBI agent—who’s also an elf in a modern-day world where orcs and fairies live uneasily alongside humans. Is this meant to be escapist entertainment or an allegory on race?

It’s a little bit of both. I grew up watching Hollywood films that gave you the ride of your life and also invited you to reflect on greater subjects in society.

But you have purple hair!

It’s a great color, actually. It vibrates really well. There is a dandy quality to this character. Louis Vuitton designed my clothing for the part. These are very stylish elves.

Last one: How did Versace’s robes feel?

You saw the pink one? That made me feel sexy. My chest is bare; I had put on almost 20 pounds, and I was very proud of my paunchy stomach. I was surrounded by beautiful people. It made me feel like an emperor. Everyone should feel like an emperor once in their life.

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